Experimental designs in the social sciences have received increasing attention due to their power to produce causal inferences. Nevertheless, experimental research faces limitations, including limited external validity and unrealistic treatments. We propose combining qualitative fieldwork and experimental design iteratively--moving back-and-forth…

This contribution documents the author's lived experiences in his fieldwork for his PhD research in the field of English as a second/foreign language in a familiar social setting in Bangladesh. The account suggests that insider researchers can helpfully draw on their tacit knowledge of local social and cultural norms and values to understand their…

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) have been widely used in field experiments treating a cluster of individuals as the unit of randomization. This study focused particularly on situations where CRTs are accompanied by a common complication, namely, treatment noncompliance or, more generally, intervention nonadherence. In CRTs, compliance may be…

A sample of five sites of recent urban renewal activity in Sandwell, West Midlands, U.K. formed the basis for an audit survey of the nature and degree of associated change in a broad set of physical, built, and infrastructure environmental parameters. Data were mostly derived from questionnaire surveys of professionals with specific environmental…

Discusses the processes involved in a field study of technological change in radiology and how researchers can design a qualitative study and then collect data in a systematic and explicit manner. Illustrates the social and human problems of gaining entry into a research site, constructing a research role, and managing relationships. (63…

The purpose of this research project was to identify ethnographers who had used computers in the field to record and analyze qualitative data. To locate such individuals a literature search was conducted, an announcement was placed in the "Anthropology Newsletter," anthropology computer specialists were contacted, a special symposium was…

The Michigan Department of Education conducts an annual follow-up survey to determine the employment and continuing educational status of students who have graduated or withdrawn from its secondary vocational education programs. This standard survey form was modified by presenting a range of values and increasing the question length to improve the…

A field study of Canadian Government bureaucracy illustrates two perspectives on strategic decision processes. Processes follow a structured progression or are anarchic, wherein decisions are inferred from outcomes of fortuitous combinations of events. Both perspectives facilitate processual understanding but fail to specify the influence of…

Three theories account for individuals' perceptions of sexual harassment: (1) men and women view and define sexual harassment differently; (2) differential sexual experiences at work account for different perceptions; and (3) gender role "spillover" accounts for perceptual differences. A sample of 1,232 working men and women supports these…

An exploratory field study of 1,156 Oregon school administrators identified 12 sources of stress shared at all administrative levels. These stressors included complying with rules, attending meetings, completing reports on time, gaining public support, resolving parent-school conflicts, evaluating staff, making decisions affecting others, and five…

Over 600 students taking advanced level biology in more than 130 schools were surveyed to investigate the relationship between their attitudes toward fieldwork and factors associated with fieldwork teaching. Responses given by the students and their teachers are presented and discussed. (Author/JN)

Describes the experience of Asian-American and Hispanic-American immigrant students at Garden City High School. Finds that school policies and programs and a lack of empathy on the part of teachers and majority students tend to marginalize the newcomers. (DM)

Describes a case study methodology that combines a three-year longitudinal study with nine retrospective studies about the same phenomenon. Explains how specific strengths in each method compensate for some particular weakness in the other. Suggests circumstances for which dual methodology is especially appropriate. (35 references) (MLF)

Informal discussion groups, "rap groups", have been found to be an effective method for establishing rapport and understanding with mentally retarded adults in sheltered workshop settings. To investigate the use of rap groups as a field research approach with mentally retarded adults, four groups of 6 to 9 mentally retarded adults,…

In September of 1981, the Fatherhood Project at Bank Street College in New York City began field research investigating the ways in which America's major social institutions were responding to the call for greater male involvement in childrearing. The research effort attempted to identify innovations in five major institutional sectors: the law,…